When did I fall
by Kiyamasho
Summary: Stephanie Brown stopped being Batgirl to concentrate on living a normal life. Then she runs into Damian Wayne and agrees to help with an investigation. Will the investigation be the only thing between them? Or will they both discover something new? COMPLETE plus BONUS CHRISTMAS CHAPTER
1. Reunion

**Pairing: Damian Wayne and Stephanie Brown**

**Ages: 22 and 30 respectively**

**Hey guys! Valentine's day is just around the corner and I figured I'd celebrate by doing a quick Vday fic! The pairing is a bit unusual but when inspiration hits who are you to ignore it? Anyways please leave a review once you've finished!**

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><p>Stephanie Brown was exhausted. Trudging up the stairs to her apartment the blonde woman shook her head as she thought about her rather tragic day. It had started off good, after all it was her two year anniversary with Jared Brokesford a prominent lawyer at Fitch, Goole, Harris. The two of them had met when Stephanie, a reporter for a local paper, had gone to the law firm to interview Jared. He had just won his first major case putting in jail a pair of siblings who specialized in trafficking little girls. Stephanie had been impressed after meeting him. Jared had been quick on his feet but he had exuded a gentleness she hadn't seen in anyone since Tim. Plus he was easy on the eyes which was always good. A few days after the interview Stephanie and been shocked and extremely pleased when a dozen roses had arrived at her cubicle with a dinner invitation from the handsome lawyer. Stephanie had immediately accepted and the rest, as they say, was history.<p>

Immediately Stephanie pulled a face. It was history alright; tonight was supposed to be a magical night. They had been dating for two years and the next logical step in Stephanie's mind was engagement. So when Jared had called her earlier telling her to be ready at 7pm promising a special surprise Stephanie had nearly jumped out her skin with glee. The past few months had been stressful on their relationship with both her and Jared gaining promotions causing them to have less time to spend together. In fact Stephanie had been sure that Jared had forgotten about their anniversary. Any hints she dropped had been met with blanks looks or smiles. All confidence in her soon to be fiance renewed, Stephanie had left work early to get ready for the night's festivities. She had dressed in her most seductive underwear and slipped on a barely there black dress. Generally Stephanie had one mode for her hair, a no nonsense bun but tonight was going to be special...different; so she had left her hair waving down her shoulders.

By the time Jared arrived to pick her up Stephanie had transformed from a dowdy looking reporter to a sex goddess. Jared had eyed her appreciatively and immediately led Stephanie out of the apartment to where he had left his car. Then the evening went to hell. All thoughts of engagements and anniversaries flew from Stephanie's mind when Jared took her to a work dinner party. His special surprise? He had been promoted to partner. Any other day Stephanie would have been pleased for him but today, the day that was supposed to be about them, the news had infuriated her. She had pulled him aside, wished him a happy anniversary and left the restaurant. Of course he hadn't followed her, how could he leave his own celebratory party?

Stephanie shook her head and finished walking up the stairs feeling completely disgusted. She made her way to her apartment door and shoved the key in the lock. She walked in and began talking off her coat. Suddenly the fine hairs on the back of Stephanie's neck stood up and her entire body tensed up. It had been many years since her "bat senses" had tingled but Steph knew better than to ignore their warning. Slowly she pulled off her coat and once she had set it aside she slid her hand into basket near the door. A few moments later her hand reappeared with a hand gun firmly in it's grasp. A wry smile touched Stephanie's lips. Batman would have never approved of a gun but it made Stephanie feel better having one.

After removing her shoes and setting her purse down, Stephanie silently walked through the darkened hallway towards her living room. She entered the room slowly, ready to shoot whoever was in there but to her surprise-and relief- there was no one. Stephanie retraced her steps and quickly inspected the rest of her apartment. Thankfully she didn't find anyone. Feeling silly for drawing her gun over nothing Stephanie flipped on a few lights and padded into the kitchen tossing the gun on her table as she walked to the fridge. All this hunger and anger was going to drive her insane.

"If I weren't here on serious business I might have taken the time to laugh at your pathetic attempts at locating an intruder."

The deep voice was sudden and scared the crap out of Stephanie. She let out a shriek and came up quick, banging her head on the inside of the fridge. Cursing she backed out of the fridge and whirled around. She made a half leap for the gun before realizing that it was Batman leaning against the entrance to her kitchen and not a common thug. "Bruce! What on..." Stephanie's voice trailed off and she frowned remembering that recently Kara had mentioned that Bruce and Clark had gone up into space for an extended mission. She glared at the Batman in front of her and took in the familiar sardonic tilt of his lips. Immediately Stephanie planted her fists on her hips and snapped, "Damian Wayne! What on earth gives you the right right to come uninvited to a girl's apartment and scare the hell out of them?"

Damian's mouth curved into a smile and he said simply, "Like I said, business."

Stephanie narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Kindly take your business and leave."

Of course Damian ignored her and with a nod motioned for her to sit down at the table. Stephanie considered ignoring the nod and demanding once more that he leave but really, who could argue with a Wayne? Besides, her legs felt like crap after all that walking. So with a toss of her hair Stephanie sat down in a chair, legs silently screaming in joy. Careful to keep her face blank she sat back and waved a hand. "Well I don't have all night. Why are you here Damian?"

For a moment Damian merely stared at her and Stephanie couldn't help but grow warm and couldn't help but feel underdressed. The dress that had been perfect earlier was now inappropriate. She tried to tug the suddenly high hemline of her dress down as Damian finally spoke. "Word has reached both me and Dick that there's going to be a massive breakout from Arkham Asylum."

Stephanie took a minute to process this before shrugging. "What does that have to do with me? I don't do Batgirl work anymore."

Damian replied easily, "Our sources tell us that the breakout won't happen until Prof. Strange can wire the funds to his 'go to man'. Even with our pooled resources Dick and I are having difficulty discovering the actual name of this mysterious person." He paused to rub his chin before finishing, "What we have discovered is that they work at Fitch, Goole, and Harris."

Stephanie was sure that she must have made an pretty good bug impression at that moment. "What? That's where –!"

"Where your lover Brokesford works. Dick and I are hoping that you can use your connections there to find out who this go to man is. The breakout is set to happen in three days so we have a very limited window."

A scowl puckered Stephanie's face and forgetting the short length of her dress she crossed her legs. "I'm sorry to tell you this but Jared and I...had a falling out."

Damian shrugged. "You're resourceful, you'll figure something out."

Stephanie didn't reply and for several minutes all was silent. Finally Stephanie stood and sighed heavily. "Fine...I'll help you guys out. But you two owe me."

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><p>Damian drove home feeling as though someone had punched him in the gut. He had not been prepared to see Stephanie. The last time he had seen the blonde girl was maybe a year or two after she put aside her Batgirl activities in favor of living out a normal life. Damian shook his head and clutched the steering wheel of the Batsmobile. He hadn't expected to find her tonight looking so...womanly. She had filled out some, replacing ropey muscle with soft curves. Curves that had been exposed by that scrap of a dress she had on. Her hair was much longer now and the memory of it brushing against the tops of her...Damian's mouth pressed into a thin line. He didn't have time for this. His father was due to return in a few days time and Damian needed to have the situation contained by then. He had to prove to the older man that he was worthy of wearing this costume, worthy of becoming the next Batman. A sigh slid through his lips; this situation couldn't be over soon enough.<p>

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><p>"This is your plan?" Damian glared at Stephanie from his perch on her sofa. It was the next morning and Damian had come by to drop off an earbud that would allow them to communicate once Steph had entered Fitch, Goole, and Harris. He had wanted to know if Stephanie had decided what she would do once inside and the former Batgirl couldn't help but show off.<p>

Now, however, Stephanie couldn't help but grin at the skeptical look on Damian's face. She twirled causing the trench coat she wore to flare up. Damian grimaced and turned his head causing Stephanie to laugh, "Oh come on, didn't you tell me to be resourceful?"

Instantly a scowl reminiscent of his childhood, settled on Damian's face. "I told you to be resourceful not dress up like...like a common whore." A muscle twitched in his cheek and if Stephanie didn't know better she'd say that the young man sincerely upset. Steph shrugged inwardly; this was the best way to go about things. She reached out and pinched his nose.

"Come on Batboy let's get a move on."

30 minutes later Stephanie was entering the building a calm look on her face. She flashed her visitor's badge, that was good for another two months, at the guard and walked confidently to a set of elevators. She quickly punched the up button and thankfully the elevator opened right away. Stephanie slide inside and adjusted the belt around the trench she was wearing after she pressed the key for the fifth floor. Before she was ready the elevator doors slide open revealing the office floor of Fitch, Goole, and Harris. It was very plush and elaborate making anyone not from these offices feel very small and insignificant.

A soft whistle in her ear reminded Stephanie that Damian was watching all of this through a tiny camera hidden on a pin located on the collar of the jacket. _"This is a pretty swanky place. It's almost as impressive as Wayne Enterprises." _An unexpected shiver ran down Stephanie's spine. Having Damian speaking literally in her ear in that unexpectedly deep voice of his felt intamite to Stephanie and it brought on thoughts she wasn't entirely comfortable with. She took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face as she walked over to the secretary.

The secretary, a young woman named Abagail, looked up and immediately smiled. "Miss Brown! What a pleasure to see you..." She paused to lean forward before continuing in a low tone, "After what happened a few days ago I was sure we wouldn't be seeing you around again."

Stephanie let out a fake laugh and winked. "Well you know, I gotta give the poor lug a chance to be forgiven."

The younger lady giggled and replied easily, "Well Mr. Brokesford has a meeting soon but I'm sure he wouldn't mind you going back there to see him."

"Thanks Abigail. Do me a favor...don't let him know I'm coming." With another wink Stephanie rounded the desk and headed straight for Jared's office. She gave the door a precursory knock and walked in without waiting for a reply. Jared looked up with an incredulous look on his face as Stephanie shut the door and stared at him. For a moment Stephanie felt pity. Jared looked terrible; there were bags under his eyes and his hair was mussed as if he had just rolled out of bed without looking at the mirror. His suit was crumpled and there were papers strewn all over his desk.

"Ste...Stephanie! What are you doing here?"

Stephanie gave him a sultry smile and stepped forward while pulling on the belt of the trench coat. "I'm here to give you a chance to be forgiven." Releasing the loose ends of the belt Stephanie pushed the trench off of her revealing a nearly sheer babydoll teddy. Jared's jaw dropped and immediately Damian was growling in her ear. "_Put the trench back ON. I can't see anything!" _Once more the young man was ignored and Stephanie gave the other man a grin and sauntered forward. "Do you like what you see?"

Jared gulped and nodded. "Of course I do but..." He paused to glance at his watch. "I have a meeting in less than three minutes." Stephanie slid between him and the desk and wound her arms around his neck. She pulled his head down and nibbled on his ear.

"What kind of meeting?"

For a moment Jared didn't respond, his eyes were closed and he had leaned forward slightly, placing his hands on either side of Stephanie's body griping the edge of the desk. She couldn't help but grin as she gently kissed his cheek. "Jared? Are you alright."

Finally he responded in a low voice, "It's a full office meeting, HR made some changes to several policies and we're supposed to go over them."

Stephanie feinted disappointment. "Well I wouldn't want you to miss a meeting, especially since you just got promoted." Then she faked excitement, "Well if you don't mind I could just wait in here for you, give you something to look forward to after the meeting." Stephanie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Jared grinned down at her and gave her a quick kiss. Minutes later he was gone and Stephanie immediately pulled back on the trench coat.

"_Are you two done thoroughly disgusting me?" _

Stephanie rolled her eyes and immediately began going through the papers on Jared's desk. "Calm down Damian, I was just trying to establish an excuse as to why I'm here in the offices."

Damian responded with a snort but didn't say anything else as Stephanie searched the office. When she didn't find anything he suggested that she leave and go to another one. Immediately she made a face and said, "I'm sorry, am I handling this investigation or are you? If you want to do it then come up here and do it yourself!"

She left the office and was immediately thankful that there was a full office meeting. The surrounding offices and cubicles were deserted. Stephanie glanced up at the security camera and murmured, "Did you and Dick take care of the surveillance cameras?"

"_Of course. They're on a loop, you have about 30 minutes before anyone notices something suspicious." _

Stephanie nodded and immediately got to work. 20 minutes later she sat down frustrated in a cubicle towards the end of the large office floor. "I'm not seeing ANYTHING useful! Are you sure this was the company the guy mentioned?"

"_We're very sure." _There was a brief pause before Damian came back saying, _"Check the secretary's desk." _

"What? Abagail? Why on earth would I check her things?"

"_Because you need to do a thorough sweep." _

"Fine, I'll do it if it'll make you sleep better tonight." Stephanie stood and casually ambled over to where the desk was. Abigail was in the meeting and her replacement for the hour had sauntered off to go do who knows what. Stephanie quickly looked through the papers and drawers and found nothing. Just as she was going to admit defeat she noticed Abigail's purse sticking out from the desk. Steph hesitated for a moment before she picked the bag up and went through it. There were the usual things in there: makeup, pepper spray, a wallet, ect. Grabbing the wallet Stephanie popped it open and several pictures floated out.

"Crap!" Steph stooped down and snatched them off the floor and was about to stuff them back into wallet when Damian said sharply, _"Wait a minute, show me that last one." _Stephanie held it up and couldn't see what was special about the photo. It was a photo of Abigail and a slightly older man. While Abigail had a happy expression on her face the man looked rather morose.

"_That's Eli Strange, Dr. Strange's son. Abigail's the one who's going to help them break out." _

Before Stephanie could reply there was an outraged gasp from behind her. Steph whirled around and realized with horror that it was Abigail. The younger woman was glaring and seeing that she had Stephanie's attention she snapped, "Just what do you think you're doing going through my purse?"

"I...uh...I accidentally kicked it over." Stephanie quickly set down the bag and raised her hands. Abigail's eyes narrowed as she glared pointedly at the hand clutching the photos.

"So what, my wallet fell out and the pictures too?"

Stephanie set the photos down and said, "Fine, I'll tell you the truth. I'm here running an investigation for a...story the paper is working on."

Abigail stepped closer and snapped, "What story? What's so important that you need to go through my personal property? I'm going to call the police!"

As Abigail stalked around her desk and grabbed the telephone Stephanie blurted out the first thing that popped into her mind. "Eli Strange, the poker championships are going to be held in a nearby town and we're doing biographies on all the players. We...We heard he had family working here."

Instantly Abigail paled and dropped the telephone. "I don't know who you're talking about. Get out of here!"

Stephanie took a step towards the desk and said gently, "I saw the photo Abigail, I know you're related to him. You don't have to be afraid."

For a moment Abigail's face seemed to crumple, as if she was going to start crying but then she straightened and her face grew hard. "The only one who needs to be afraid here is you." She lifted her hand and Stephanie's eyes nearly popped out when she saw the gun.

"What on earth! Abigail! Where did you get th...nevermind that, there's no need to kill me because I know you're related to him!"

Abigail stepped out from behind the desk and said coldly, "That's were you're wrong. I can't have anyone finding out that I'm related to the Strange's. And I'm going to make sure no one else ever does. Turn around and start walking to Mr. Brokesford's office."

Stephanie turned and did as she was told whispering heatedly, "Now would be a good time for you to show up Damian!" There was no response and Stephanie silently cursed the day she had ever run into the Bat family. She felt herself get prodded with the gun and she moved quickly into Jared's office. Abigail shut the door behind them and said, "Now go over to the window and open it." Her eyes widened wildly before continuing, "I don't want to be arrested for murder so you're just going to have to kill yourself."

"You'll never get away with this Abigail, the truth will always be found out." Steph spoke quietly trying not alarm the other girl.

Abigail laughed, "Of course I'm going to get away with this! Everyone saw you storm out of the restaurant the other night. That plus the knowledge that your precious lover was cheating on you drove you to end your life. It's quite simple really."

Steph's mouth dropped in outrage. "Cheating on me! With who?"

"Just open the window before you make me use this gun."

Stephanie went to the window and shoved it open. Wind blew in ruffling the girls' hair and sending papers swirling around the room. Stephanie shivered and wished she had thought to bring her own gun with her. Suddenly the weapon was being pressed into her back again and Abigail was saying sweetly, "Goodbye Stephanie."

As Abigail shoved Stephanie the blonde girl twisted and knocked the gun from her hand. Abigail cried out in outrage and lept for it but Stephanie grabbed onto her and slammed her back into the desk. Pinning her there Stephanie snarled, "Let me guess. You're the little tart he was sleeping with?"

Abigail kneed her and as Stephanie gasped out the other one snarled back, "You really think he wanted to spend the rest of his life with a dowdy reporter?"

She shoved Stephanie back towards the window. Instantly Stephanie grabbed back onto her and the two girls began to tussle. Papers flew, furniture broke, skin was scratched...suddenly they were on the ground and Abigail found herself beside the gun. Immediately she snatched it with a crazed laugh and as she pulled the trigger a large foot slammed down on her shoulder. The shot, which would have hit Stephanie square in the face uninterrupted, misfired and the file cabinet found its self with a new hole. Abigail screamed out in pain and Stephanie could only stare wide eyed up at Damian.

The young man was in full Batman regalia and with the wind causing his cape to swirl around he made an impressive figure in the suddenly too small office. Abigail whimpered in fear as Batman leaned down and grabbed her by her shirt. He lifted her up and said in a low tone, "Be thankful that you didn't kill her." Abigail burst into tears and Batman quickly tied her up and set her down on one side of the room. Beside her he left a copy of the tape showing her threatening to kill Stephanie. He turned to Stephanie and the blonde girl immediately scrammbled to her feet.

"What on earth took you so long? I thought I was going to...Wait a minute! Hey! Put me down!" Stephanie struggled against Damian as he casually grabbed her and lifted her into his arms. He strode over to the window ignoring her shouts of outrage and used one of his automatic grappling hooks to snag the roof of a nearby building. Without hesitating he jumped from the window and couldn't help but enjoy Stephanie's shriek of shock and the way her arms slid around him tightly. Minutes later they were on top of the roof. Damian set her down gently and instantly he was rewarded with several smacks.

Stephanie glared angrily at Damian and shouted, "What is wrong with you, you...you neanderthal! You can't just let me almost die and then take off with me! Are you insane?" She stopped to suck in air but before she could continue with her rant Damian placed a finger over her mouth and said, "Go to lunch with me."

Once again Stephanie could only gape at him in shock. "Go with you-wait what?"

Damian gave a half smile and repeated himself, "Go to lunch with me. Tomorrow. I can't do dinner, Dick and I have to head over to Metropolis in the evening."

Stephanie could feel confusion swirling around in her. "Damian I'm flattered that you want to have...lunch with me but-" Once more Damian's finger pressing against her mouth silenced her.

"No buts." Damian said. "I'll meet you at..." He rattled off a time and place and was suddenly gone leaving a very flabbergasted former Batgirl stranded on a rooftop.

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><p><strong>And that is the end of part one! Please leave a review! <strong>


	2. Bruised Tomato

**And here is the long awaited chapter two! Please enjoy!**

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><p>Stephanie Brown shook her head stubbornly. "No, I won't do it. I'm not going to lunch with him."<p>

There was a few minutes of silence before Cassandra Cain's voice came crackling over the phone saying, "You say this but I'm sure you're standing in front of your closet with clothes strewn everywhere."

That was the bad thing about best friends Stephanie thought as she looked guiltily at all the clothes thrown haphazardly around the room. They knew everything. Fingering a sundress she admitted, "You're right as usual...but...Cass I can't do this. I'm 30. He's practically a child still." The sound of gunshots came through and Stephanie rolled her eyes. When was Cassandra Cain not kicking ass? She set the phone down turning on the speaker phone function. She yanked the sundress out of the closet and slid it on and eyed herself critically. Not bad. Suddenly Cass was back.

"Sorry, I was...taking care of something. He's not a child Stephanie. He should be 22 now; old enough to know what he wants."

"Well I don't know what he wants with me." Stephanie complained as she yanked off and tossed the sundress aside. "This is probably some elaborate scheme of Bruce's to get information from me."

More gunshots and then, "I doubt that. You have been out of the game for many years Stephanie. Just accept the truth. Damian is attracted to you. And possibly you are attracted to him."

Stephanie kicked aside some clothes on the floor and plopped down with a grunt. "Ok I won't lie. He's become really handsome Cass. The completely opposite of Jared. I just...I don't know. It all feels so strange."

Over the sound of a man screaming Cass said gently, "It's just lunch Stephanie."

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><p>Several hours later Stephanie found herself seated at the restaurant Damian told her to meet him at. She had looked it up online and saw that it was a casual sandwich shop so finally she had thrown on a pair of skinny jeans and low cut blouse. Boots and a cross body purse completed the outfit. Nervous, Stephanie had gotten there earlier and now as she sipped ice water she wished she hadn't. Patience wasn't one of Stephanie's strongest virtues and every time the bell above the entrance jingled she jerked slightly. She took another sip of water and sighed. Cass was right. There was nothing to freak out about, it was just lunch. Something she did almost everyday and often with other people. It was no big deal having lunch with Damian. He would arrive, they'd have polite conversation then they'd say their goodbyes and never see each other again. The last part saddened Stephanie slightly. It had been a long time since she had talked to any of the Bat family other than Cassandra.<p>

Steph's cell phone rang jarring her from her thoughts. She picked it up from where she had set on the table in front of her and frowned when she saw it was Jared. She contemplated ignoring the call but decided against it. "What do you want Jared?"

Jared's voice was relieved. "Stephanie! I was worried sick since you disappeared yesterday. Are you alright, where are you?"

"I'm perfectly fine no thanks to you! You cheated on me Jared, what's wrong with you?" Stephanie's glared fiercely salt and pepper shakers before her. She could almost see Jared face paling and the nervous twitch he got in his eye when he was about to tell a lie.

"Stephanie, darling, I would never do such a thing."

Stephanie sighed tiredly, "Save it for someone who cares Jared. We're done so don't bother calling or coming by my apartment." She hung up and placed the phone back down on the table in front of her. A quick glance at her watch showed that Damian was now ten minutes late. Typical Wayne behavior.

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><p>Damian glowered at Dick Grayson and had a hard time forcing his anger back down. "I'm going to kill you, I don't care what Father says."<p>

The two men were currently on top of warehouse fighting several thugs in the factory district of Gotham.

Dick matched him glare for glare as he dodged someone's fist. "Don't act so childish, you know how our life is. We have to set our personal life aside and protect those around us. Do you know how many times I've had to cancel my plans?"

"Yes but this is different..." Damian sighed and continued sullenly as he kicked someone off the roof, "She's special to me, Nightwing. Our situation is a bit more complicated than yours and..." Damian waited for Dick to knock out the last thug before finishing, "Barbara." Dick turned to look at him and after a moment said regretfully, "I'm sorry Da...Batman, I hadn't realized how serious this was for you. Go ahead and leave. I'll call Wally to come help me finish up here." An uncharacteristically bright smile flitted across Damian's face. "I suppose I won't have to kill you now." He jumped off the roof and landed on a large van. Easily he slid off and made his way over to the hidden bat mobile and jumped in with one fluid movement. He pressed a button and the large vehicle purred to life. Minutes later he was on the road driving in the direction of Gotham. Another smile played around his lips. In the direction of Stephanie.

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><p>Stephanie was furious. 40 minutes of waiting and he still wasn't there. What was this? Some sort of elaborate prank? Angry at him for being late and angrier still at the fact that she was still there waiting Stephanie didn't notice the activity across the street. Not until the explosion anyways.<p>

Helplessly Stephanie, her table, and her chair were all flung back into the table behind her. Glass shattered, people screamed, alarms sounded and Stephanie noted that the world around her seemed to be on fire. She turned her head and saw that there was a man lying there his neck bent at a funny angle. She shuddered and tried to move. It took a moment but she managed to push her table off her. Another moment and she was on her feet ears ringing. Around her other restaurant patrons were doing the same.

"What happened?" A woman's feeble voice rose above the scared murmurings and someone else replied, "I'm not sure...was it aliens?"

As the people began quibbling about aliens Stephanie pushed her way to the gaping hole that was once the front of the restaurant and looked out. The street was a mess. Several other business had experienced the same damage and many cars were on fire. People ran by screaming and when she looked up she saw why. A giant airship with what appeared to be giant cannons sticking out the bottom was slowly drifting above the city while leisurely shooting at the local businesses. Across the street a Chinese restaurant exploded and Stephanie backed up once more into the sandwich shop-what was left of it anyways. Scrambling over debris she went back to where she had landed and dug through the rubble. A few minutes later her cracked phone was in her hands and Stephanie murmured a short prayer.

"Please work..."

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><p>Damian was pulling up his pants when a familiar voice said from behind him, "I guess Artemis was right about all the bat boys having nice asses. I guess I owe her those twenty bucks...but what she doesn't know won't kill her."<p>

Without turning around Damian picked up a pair of shoes from his closet and said stiffly, "Wally I'm sure you have better things to be doing than...checking me out. Save that for Dick."

Suddenly the speedster was in front of him and Damian felt his heart sink. The other man was dressed in his Flash outfit with a semi serious expression on his face. Wally patted his arm and took the shoes Damian had been holding out of his hands. "Sorry dude but duty calls. There's some sort of Alien tearing apart the down town area. I'll meet you there!"

Damian blinked and Wally was gone. Then he paled. Stephanie was supposed to meet him down town. Sure he was late but what if she had waited for him? Or she had left and just stayed in that general area. He groaned and within minutes was dressed once again in the bat suit and out the door in the bat mobile.

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><p>Stephanie crouched behind a flipped car and held up her phone snapping pictures of the spaceship and the damaged area. As another explosion rocked the ground Stephanie quickly sent the pictures to her editor at the paper and sprinted across the street to try and get better shots. The date may have failed but at least she would get brownie points down at the news paper for these photos. As she stepped behind another car the ship began to lower itself and a hatch opened up on the bottom and a ramp slid out. The ramp touched the ground and several muscular and half naked women ran down. They lined up in two neat rows and faced the ramp. Several seconds later a large imposing woman walked down the ramp and Stephanie felt her mouth drop.<p>

If she didn't know any better she'd have to say that she was staring at Granny Goodness. She had never had the...privilege of meeting the other woman but she had once looked through Kara's file in Batcave and had seen a picture of the terrifying older woman. Granny Goodness began to speak and Steph edged closer to record the scene.

"...Any female between the ages of 8 and 13. Kill anyone who tries to interfere! Go my children and destroy anyone who tries to interfere on the Lord Darkseid's business!"

The female warriors let out a blood curling cry and ran off in opposite directions to fulfill their duty. Stephanie paled and shoved her phone into her purse. No way was she going to get killed over a story. A scream stopped her in her tracks and Steph turned to see a warrior kicking a woman aside and lifting up a little girl. The girl let out a cry and tried to reach for her mother but the warrior ignored the girl and carried her back over to the ship where she tossed her into what looked like an electrical cage near the ramp. Steph cursed under her breath as more warriors appeared carrying children and repeated the dumping procedure before disappearing for more.

There was no way Stephanie could leave now. Granny Goodness stood near the enclosure with a cruel smile on her mouth as she watched the mayhem the warriors were causing. Before her senses came back Stephanie raced forward and yelled, "HEY! Let those little kids go!" She stopped a few feet away from the older woman and glared.

Granny Goodness turned and gave her a once over before sneering, "You dare impose yourself on Lord Darkseid's mission? A mistake on your part that can only end with your death!" She ended with a laugh and launched herself at Stephanie. Immediately Stephanie dodged to the left and stuck out her leg tripping the older woman.

"Don't underestimate me lady; if you think you can kill me you have another thing coming!" Stephanie barely finished the words before Granny Goodness was on top of her. It was like being attacked by a 300 lb gorilla. Stephanie went down and just barely managed to block a savage punch to her face. She slammed her hands into Granny's throat and the older woman let out a strangled growl as her head snapped backwards. Steph shoved Granny off of her and scrambled to her feet. Granny also got to her feet and Stephanie found herself in a fight for her life.

It had been years since she had fought a serious hand to hand battle but Stephanie's former training did not fail her. Twists, dodges, punches, kicks, all of it came back to her and Stephanie could later say she gave Granny Goodness a run for her money-If she lived anyways. As the two women grappled Stephanie vaguely heard cheers in the background and the sounds of people fighting. Distracted by a warrior flying by them Stephanie found Granny Goodness' fist in her face and she toppled over her nose exploding in pain. Blood dripped from it and Steph mentally willed herself not to pass out. With a grunt Steph clumsily rolled to her right as Granny's foot came down. She wasn't fast enough and Granny's attack hit her in the shoulder.

Blinded and frozen by pain Stephanie could only lay there as Granny grabbed her by the front of her shirt and yanked her up off the ground. The older woman laughed and sneered, "I may have underestimated you but today is the day you die!" Woozily Stephanie felt herself being lifted up high the sun filled her eyes and a sigh slid from her lips. Granny Goodness threw her body like it weighed nothing. As her body sailed through the air Stephanie's eyes closed. Of all the ways to die...

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><p>The first thought to enter Stephanie's mind when she opened her eyes was <em>How can it hurt to be dead?<em> Her entire body felt like it had gotten run over by a train. With a soft grown she blinked and realized she wasn't in front of any pearly white gates but instead was lying down on a soft feather mattress in a nondescript room. Forcing herself up with a wince Stephanie noted that one of her arms wrapped tightly in a bandage making her feel as though she were a mummy. A brief inspection revealed similar bandages around her ribs. Stephanie sighed and gave the room a more thorough sweep and noted that on the night table next to her was a small framed photo of Damian and Bruce. Damian was young and the scowl on his face brought unwanted memories to Steph's mind. She shook her head and stiffly slid off the bed.

The first few steps Steph took her jerky and she was thankful no one was in the room to witness her humiliation. The door leading out of the room was ajar and Steph exited. Softly she padded down the hall not sure where she was going. A brief foray into two of three closed rooms relieved other bedrooms. The last door proved to be a washroom and Stephanie brightened. She entered the bathroom flipped on the light and shut the door. Out of habit she glanced at the mirror and froze. With the reflection gazing wide eyed back at her no one could really blame her for the ear shattering shriek that followed.

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><p>Damian was in the family room eating a simple meal when he heard the scream. Immediately he leapt to his feet and ran to the stairs ignoring the shout Alfred gave at seeing the spilled food on the floor. Damian took the stairs two at a time and upon reaching the top he flew down the hall and burst into his room. Empty. Heart beating fast he backed out of his room imagining the worst when he noticed a dim glow coming out from underneath one of the doors down the hall. With quick purposeful steps Damian strode to the door. Nearing the bathroom he heard strangled sounds coming from within and tried to push the door open upon reaching it. The door was locked and once again Damian felt that burning anxiety in his chest. Rattling the doorknob he said in as calm as voice as possible, "Steph are you in there? Open the door."<p>

The strangled noises stopped and to Damian's relief the door opened. On the other side of the door stood Stephanie, her blonde hair a tangled mess and her eyes red and puffy. Seeing him, her bottom lip began to tremble. Damian hesitated before reaching out and brushing some of the hair out of her face. "Steph? What's wrong; are you hurting?"

Stephanie shook her head and burst into tears. Pointing at her face she sobbed, "I'm not dead and I look hideous."

After the battle with Granny Goodness and her henchwomen Damian had brought Stephanie to Wayne Manor where Alfred could see to her. When Damian had arrived to downtown Gotham the first thing he had seen was Stephanie fighting against Granny Goodness. He had watched in horror as Stephanie was lifted up as little more than a rag doll and then thrown several hundred feet. If it hadn't been for Wally catching her Stephanie would have probably died. Thankfully she had lived although two of her ribs had bruised, her nose had been broken and she had gotten a nasty cut on one of her arms...not to mention all the minor bruises and scrapes decorating her body.

Damian took in her face now and tried not to smile. Two days had passed since the fight and she had a swollen nose, a black eye and a few scrapes on the left side of her face. Add to to that the puffy eyes and tangled hair and she really did look quite comical. Although the colours blooming on her face did reminded Damian of the flower garden Alfred had out back. Stephanie noticed the smile tugging at his lips and the tears flowed harder as she lifted her hands and pushed against his chest. "Just go away you jerk. Let me wallow in peace!"

Trapping her hands against his chest Damian said softly, "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you...I just remembered something." Without hesitating he lifted up one of her hands and gently brushed a kiss against the knuckles. "Hurry up and use the bathroom. You need to rest some more."

* * *

><p>Stephanie used the bathroom without further incident and stared at her face as she slowly washed her hands. It had been a long time since she had gotten injured this badly. With a sigh she dried her hands off with a nearby hand towel and pulled open the bathroom door. To her surprise Damian was still standing there. As if sensing her confusion he explained, "I just wanted to help you back to the room." He took her uninjured arm and gently propelled her back to his room.<p>

As he helped her back into the bed Stephanie grumbled, "I don't want to go back to sleep. I want to eat. And go home." She settled back into the pillows and glared up at him.

"You can go home as soon as you're well and I'll have Alfred bring something up for you." Damian turned and walked over to an intercom beside the door. Stephanie tuned out as he asked Alfred to bring up some food. When she woke up a few hours later Damian was sitting in a chair near the bed with his arms folded across his chest and a book resting on his lap. With his eyes closed Damian looked almost like a little boy again. His hair fell across his forehead and Stephanie's hand itched to touch it. Her gaze slid down to his lips that were slightly parted and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Immediately Stephanie was appalled at the direction of her thoughts and she blushed bright red.

Suddenly Damian's eyes opened and Stephanie hoped that her face wasn't red still. Evidently it was because the first thing he did was lean forward and touch her face. He frowned and asked, "Do you have a fever? Your face is red."

Stephanie stiffened and said, "No I'm fine." She paused to wait for Damian to remove his hand but to her surprise he didn't. Instead his fingers traced a soft path over her skin setting it on fire. As they teased the edges of her mouth Stephanie could feel her face growing red again. An arrogant smile flitted across Damian's mouth as he suddenly leaned in too close for comfort.

"You know...with your face red like that...you look like a bruised tomato."

"DAMIAN WAYNE! How dare you say such a thi-!" A finger pressed against her lips stopped Stephanie's tirade.

Damian's mouth brushed against hers and he said, "Luckily for you I really like tomatoes."

Stephanie decided to berate Damian for his comments later; she was having too much fun being thoroughly kissed.

* * *

><p><em>Three months later<em>

Stephanie Brown whistled as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. Three months had passed since had gotten injured and today her bandages had been removed. Not only that but her boss over at the paper had assigned a big story to her. Stephanie grinned as she unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped inside. Kicking off her shoes she walked down the hall towards her bedroom and then froze. Her "bat senses" tingled. A slow smile crossed her face.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to knock on the door." Stephanie turned around and gave a mock glare to her boyfriend of two months who was leaning casually against the wall.

Damian Wayne, dressed in the bat suit shrugged and replied, "Where's the fun in that?"

Stephanie walked over to him and slid her arms around his neck. Kissing his cheek she said, "I have some good news."

"What good news?" Damian eyed her warily. The last time Steph had had good news he had found himself with a new haircut.

With a grin Stephanie pulled his head down and whispered in his ear, "I got my bandages remo-AHH!" Her words ended in a shriek as Damian swept her up over his shoulder and without any hesitation walked straight into her bedroom.

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><p><strong>Hey guys! I really hope you enjoyed this short story I wrote! Please leave a review if you did :)<strong>


	3. Christmas Gift

**It's Christmas eve! As a "gift" here is a bonus chapter of ****'When Did I Fall' since many people wrote me asking to continue. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

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><p>Stephanie Brown paced back and forth, frustration clouding her normally cheerful face. It was three days before Christmas and she still no idea what she was going to buy for her boyfriend of one year. It had to be the perfect gift, something that would really show him how much she loved him. Her best friend, Cassandra Cain, lay sprawled across her bed sharpening some throwing knives. She looked over at her blonde friend and raised an eyebrow. "Really Stephanie it is not that difficult. Just buy something sexy and surprise him." She mumbled under her breath, "I don't see why you waited so long to get him one."<p>

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "That's what I did for his birthday! I want to actually buy him a gift this time...and I heard that!"

Cassandra set the knives down and said, "Get him socks; men are always in need of new socks."

"Cass, I am not getting Damian socks! Gosh, can't you take this seriously?" Stephanie flopped face down on the bed beside Cassandra and let out a muffled moan.

A slight smile touched Cassandra's lips. "And then you wonder why I haven't 'settled down' yet. I do not have time to waste on things like this."

Stephanie turned her face to glare at her friend. "Oh give me a break." She paused letting out a dramatic sigh. "I guess I should just go to the mall again. Alone."

Immediately Cassandra picked up her knives and gave her friend a sidelong look. "I am not going to the mall with you. Last time was terrible."

A grin spread across Stephanie's face. "Hey, it's not my fault that crazy soccer mom tried to take you down for grabbing the last blanket on sale." She pouted slightly. "C'mon it won't be so bad; besides you're my best friend. This is part of your best friend duties."

* * *

><p>Standing in the crowded mall Cassandra gave her friend a dirty look. "I shall remember about the best friend duties when I need help on a mission."<p>

Stephanie smiled and slid her arm through her friend's. "Oh hush, its not that bad. Come on let's go into this store." She dragged Cassandra into a male clothing store and the two of them spent about thirty minutes inside. Finally Stephanie sighed and set aside an ugly sweater. "Is it me or are the clothes in here kind of ugly?"

"It's not just you." Cassandra said flatly, pushing aside an abandoned cart.

The two women exited the store and began walking. Stephanie caught sight of a jewelery store across the hall and her eyes brightened. It had been a year since she and Damian had begun their relationship and although they hadn't had the talk yet it was obvious that it was serious relationship headed in one direction; marriage. The prospect of marriage made Stephanie nervous, especially since Damian was younger than her, and she had no desire to saddle him with a life he wasn't ready for. But she loved him and the excitement of becoming Mrs. Damian Wayne killed the nerves. Stephanie tugged on Cassandra's sleeve and pointed towards the jewelry store. "Hey let's go in there."

They forced their way through the other mall shoppers and made their way into the shop. Stephanie sighed dreamily thinking about engagement rings. Eagerly she walked over to some displays. They were beautiful. Cassandra peered at the rings and rolled her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be getting a gift for your boyfriend?"

"I am!" Stephanie said defensively. "I just wanted to see the engagement rings..." Her voice trailed off as an overly enthusiastic store worker came over to them.

The woman's smile seemed to light up the entire area. Taking Stephanie's hand she gushed out, "Welcome to Gotham Jewelers! How can I help you two ladies? Are you looking for commitment rings? We have supplied the rings for many gay and lesbian customers who are looking to take that next step."

Cassandra snorted and turned her back on the woman. Stephanie blushed and pulled her hand away. "  
>Actually I have a boyfriend...I was just looking for a gift for him."<p>

Looking slightly disappointed the woman nodded. "Ah yes I see. Then perhaps you would like to take a look at the watches we have here?" She paused looking doubtful. "Unless you were planning to propose to him then I could show you some of the male engagement rings."

Stephanie shook her head feeling slightly embarrassed, "Ah, no. The watches would be great."

As they two of them walked further into the store several people outside in the mall hallway began screaming. Stephanie caught Cassandra's eye and the two of them nodded at each other before rushing to the store entrance. Outside was total mayhem people were running by screaming and it didn't take long for the two girls to realize why. Behind the shoppers, on giant playing cards, came flying Ten and Jack from the Royal Flush Gang.

Shoppers dropped their packages in their haste to get away and the Royal Flush Gang would follow close behind snatching the bags of purchases. Stephanie's eyebrows pulled downwards in furious frown and she snapped, "You have got to be kidding me! Are things really so bad for them that they've resorted to robbing a mall?"

Cassandra slid into a shadow reappearing within seconds dressed in her outfit. Touching her mask lightly to see if it was firmly in place she replied, "I suppose coming to the mall was not such a horrible thing after all." Without waiting for a response the young woman ran forward, leaped upward and tackled Jack off of his flying card. The giant card crashed into a cell phone kiosk and Stephanie groaned. Removing her coat and hat Stephanie tossed it at the jewelery store worker who hovered just inside the entrance of the store; too scared to leave the mall but too curious to hide.

"Watch this for me will you?" Stephanie grinned at the terrified looking woman before grabbing onto a pole used to close the gates on mall stores. She used the pole to bang Ten, who had been trying to sneak up behind Cassandra across the back. Ten cried out and fell off her card landing inside a trash can. Stephanie placed the pole against her neck and asked sternly, "Where's the rest of your little group?"

Ten groaned and said, "As if I'd tell you! Who the heck are you?"

"Just your average citizen." Stephanie said innocently as she turned to block a punch from Ace. The android growled angrily and one of his hands began to glow. Stephanie threw herself to the left as an energy blast came from it. Ace blocked her escape by kicking her legs out from under her. Stephanie fell to the ground with a thud and she cried out as he slammed a foot down onto her stomach. He pointed his hand at her again and Stephanie struggled to free herself.

Suddenly Ace went sailing over her. Stephanie stared wide eyed up into the familiar glare that made Batman famous. She blushed deeply as the masked man leaned over and grabbed her hand, pulling her up easily. Once she was on her feet he said sternly, "Stay. Put." He ran to help Cassandra leaving behind an annoyed Stephanie.

"Stay put?" Stephanie repeated with a growl. "As if I was some helpless little kid getting in the way! I'll show him stay put!" She stormed over to the jewelery store and grabbed her things from the store worker before leaving.

* * *

><p>An hour later found Stephanie in her apartment sipping a glass of wine as she watched the news. A scowl covered her face as the reporter eagerly recounted the story of Batman and Blackcat saving Christmas.<p>

"If you keep frowning like that your face will stay that way." Damian's deep voice startled Stephanie and she gasped as she dropped the wine on the floor.

Stephanie whirled towards the window and found Damian standing just inside, still in uniform, with the cowl hanging down his back. She glared at him and snapped, "I have a front door for a reason!"

Damian shrugged and closed the window. "Where's the fun in that?" He walked past her and disappeared into her extra bedroom, reappearing once he had changed into some comfortable clothing he had left there. As he sat down beside her, Stephanie immediately leaned into him but remembering his "Stay put" comment she stiffened and pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Damian asked warily. "You're not on your period are you? Ouch!" He winced as Stephanie punched him hard in the arm.

"No I don't have my period you...you neanderthal!" Stephanie stood up and went into the kitchen, putting the wine glass in the sink.

She turned around to find Damian standing near the counter, his arms crossed with a scowl on his face. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know Damian! Why don't you just ask me to stay put again and we'll see what's wrong!" Stephanie said matching his scowl.

Instantly Damian looked surprised. "You're upset because I asked you to stay put at the mall?"

Stephanie shook her head and said, "You didn't ask me Damian, you ordered me to stay put like I was some idiot who was getting in the way. In case you forgot I was Batgirl for several years; I can take care of myself!"

Damian snorted, "Yeah you did such a great job that Ace was about to blow your head off."

"That's not the point Damian!" Stephanie cried out. "The point is that I am a grown woman and I'm not going to let anyone boss me around. We're in a relationship, we're supposed to be partners!"

Damian opened his mouth to defend himself but Stephanie barreled onwards. "Look, if you're one of those possessive and controlling guys then you better tell me right now." she looked down and crossed her arms. There was no point in continuing the relationship if he was going to be a dictator. Damian's hands touched the side of her face and she looked up into his eyes.

His thumbs brushed her cheeks gently and Damian said firmly, "Now you listen to me, I know you can kick ass, but seeing you in any type of situation where there's danger drives me crazy." His eyes darkened. "If anything happened to you..." He pulled her close and pressed a kiss against her forehead.

Stephanie felt her anger melting away and she slipped her arms around Damian's waist. "It's all right to say I'm sorry." She paused, kissing the side of his neck, "You might find yourself enjoying it."

Damian chuckled and brushed his lips across hers. Clearing his throat he said teasingly, "Batman formally submits an apology to Stephanie Brown."

Wrapping her arms around his neck Stephanie pulled Damian's head back down and swiftly kissed him on the mouth. "See?" She said, "It wasn't that difficult."

"Anything to make you happy." Damian replied sliding his arm around Stephanie's waist and leading her back to the living room. "Since it's Christmas I think its time I gave you your gift."

Stephanie laughed and settled against him on the couch. "Christmas isn't for another three days Damian. Has all that time in the batcave distorted your perception of time?"

Damian shifted reaching into his pocket and pulled out a small box. It took Stephanie a moment to realize what it was and when she did she gasped and sat up straight. He flipped the box open and inside was a sparkling diamond ring. Tears clouded Stephanie's eyes as he said, "I know it's only been a year but I...well...do you want to marry me or not?"

The tears began to drip down Stephanie's face and she managed to let out a strangled yes. Damian slid the ring onto her left hand and she looked up at him, eyes brimming with happiness. Wiping her cheeks she said, "I really love you."

"Well let me show you how much I love you." Damian said huskily, leaning over and nibbling on her neck.

Stephanie slid her arms around her brand new fiance and kissed him. Christmas was definitely her new favorite holiday.

* * *

><p><strong>Merry Christmas! <strong>


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